Loni and Rowdy, 12 days after birth

This will no doubt be surprising news for Loni’s opponents. When she first fell pregnant, she drew heavy criticism on her Instagram account and in the media about her “narcissistic” and “irresponsible” lifestyle choice, which sees her drinking raw juices every day, avoiding meat and dairy, and sometimes consuming 10 bananas in one sitting.

She dismissed it at the time as “ridiculous, because we’re always told to eat more fruits and vegetables to be healthy, so it doesn’t make any sense. I can’t see how people can think that I’m depriving myself or my child. They’re clearly not seeing the amount of food I’m eating”.

“I put on 17 kilos when I was pregnant, but that was pretty much all baby and fluid. In the first two days after giving birth, 10 kilos dropped off me. I’m back into a bit of yoga and cycling now, too.

“I’m living proof that you don’t have to become a whale when you’re pregnant. You don’t have to put on heaps of weight and never bounce back — you can stay really healthy.

Daytime naps

“Rowdy is five weeks old now and he’s sleeping eight hours a night already. At night he feeds, Pete (my partner) and I take him in the shower with us, I wrap him, he feeds again and then he goes to sleep for the night.

“My midwife says that if he’s feeding well and putting on weight then I can leave him in this routine. It makes life a million times easier — I’m not sleep deprived! In the morning he feeds for about two hours because he’s had such a big sleep. But then he will go to sleep for a couple of hours again,” she explains.

'Welcome to the world Mr Rowdy Nash'

“People were saying that I would have a potassium overload, me and my baby would be malnourished, that I wouldn’t be able to breastfeed — but it can be done, and if you do it right, you can thrive.

“I never got that drop in energy or exhaustion after giving birth, and I’ve still got high energy now. I think that’s definitely because I had a natural birth, free from drugs and epidurals, and because my diet is so natural. I gave birth at 2am and I was home by 6.30am that morning because I was in such good condition,” she says.

A typical meal for Loni

As far as her post-pregnancy diet and Rowdy’s diet, Loni isn’t planning on changing a thing.

“I’m thriving on a plant-based diet, so why wouldn’t he?” she says. “If I believe that the way I eat is the best way possible, then why would I let him eat any other way?

“I know that as a human race we can definitely survive on this lifestyle. Too many kids get sick, are underweight, overweight, all kinds of things, it’s just not right. I’m over people thinking that being sick and unhealthy is normal.

Pete with Rowdy

“I’m planning on still doing exactly the same things I’m doing now — eating big meals and lots of carbs, lots of fruit, veggies, big salads, pasta. I’m consuming more good fats because I’m breastfeeding, but other than that, I’m eating the same.

“I try and eat seasonally, I think that’s the way we’re designed. Fruit grows at certain times of the year because that’s when we should be eating them. So in summer I can eat 10 mangoes for dinner and it’s satisfying, but in winter I want something warm so I might have veggie soup or mashed potato with avocado on top.

Loni's favourite juice - watermelon, beetroot and lemon

“I’ll still have a juice or a smoothie every day, I haven’t missed a day in probably two-and-a-half years, but I might have to sit by the heater while I’m drinking it. I’m fully convinced that it’s just the best way I can possibly eat,” she says.

Loni posting last week

And as for those Instagram followers, Loni says they “have been so supportive, it’s been really surreal. There was so much interest in the pregnancy and my birth plan, people were so anxious to see how everything went.

“When I put the first photo up of Rowdy, there were over 2000 comments and most were so positive and encouraging. You always get the negative people, the keyboard warriors, they just say negative things because they can. But for Pete and I, it’s been a really happy adjustment. I wake up in the morning and see Rowdy’s little face and I’m just so happy.”

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.